Usb Nightmare

[Champ88]

Before I start let me introduce myself, I am new here and am just beginning to learn about how computers work. I have a Toshiba Satellite A205-S5000 with a A few weeks ago I noticed my usb mouse would no longer be recognized, nor any other usb powered devices. I realized it had to be something to do with the usb ports no longer providing power because my printer is still recognized. I disassembled the laptop and looked at the motherboard and nothing was noticeably wrong. I tried booting vista to see if it was just a software problem in Ubuntu but no luck. I also tried flashing BIOS, which updated fine but that did not solve the problem. The two ports integrated into the motherboard do not work as well as the two that connect through (for ignorance of a better term), the ribbon type wire, into a socket in the motherboard. I am able to use usb devices through my powered usb hub plugged into one of the usb drives, but it is a nuisance to have that and somewhere to plug it into in order to access something as convenient as a thumb drive. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone could give me. Thanks!

 

[pjmelect]

Have you tried in Device manager removing all USB devices hubs and controllers, then restarting the computer letting Windows reinstall the drivers?

 

[Champ88]

No but I have tried booting in both Ubuntu and Windows and they haven't worked in either. So it couldn't be a driver problem right?

 

[pjmelect]

Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be a driver problem. Have you tried resetting the CMOS memory? It is not uncommon for the USB ports on a laptop to fail.There is not a lot else you can do to fix this problem other than a new motherboard. If you have a PCMCIA slot you can get a cheap PCMCIA to USB board to give you extra USB ports.

 

[Champ88]

Great! I didn't even know that they made usb boards for PMCIA slots. That seems like the best solution for the time being. Thanks